Hughes, 30, confessed to feeling "out of my comfort zone" while taking part in the show, in which candidates compete to win a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar for their business plans.

She said it was the "right decision" to be given the firing finger after the business boss made the shock declaration that neither of the teams had won the challenge.

The girls were led by Jessica Cunningham in the task, which required them to come up with packaging for Japanese jeans, as well as a brand name, digital billboards and a TV advertisement.

Nebular struggled under online fashion entrepreneur Cunningham's leadership, with a particularly embarrassing moment coming as she failed to realise she had misplaced the jeans needed for their photo shoot.

The boys team, led by digital marketing manager Mukai Noiri, also floundered as they did not manage to complete every element of the task amid rising tensions between the team members.

Lord Sugar said to the candidates in the boardroom: "Normally, in this task, I make the decision as to which of those were the best. Well I tell you what, I am not putting my name to either of those advertising campaigns."

He dubbed both campaign as "totally, absolutely useless" and revealed his anger that "not one of you geniuses came through and ran this thing properly".

Cunningham opted to bring Alana Spencer and Hughes back into the boardroom for the showdown, while Noiri chose JD O'Brien and Karthik Nagesan as his bottom two.

Lord Sugar came to the decision to axe Hughes from the competition as he could not see her as a potential business partner.

He said: "Natalie, you've been a bit quiet, you've not been pushing yourself forward. It is regretful that this is only the second week but Natalie, you're fired."

Hughes, who previously described herself as a "hustler", told the Press Association: "I think it was the right decision, I think he always makes the right decision... it's his show, his rules; whatever he says goes."

She added that her team "should have won" the challenge because they managed to complete every part of the task, but admitted she "hated the two adverts, I hated it all".

Hughes said that The Apprentice "wasn't for me at all" and that she was surprised how "quiet and unconfident" she came across on the programme.

:: Natalie Hughes will appear alongside Rhod Gilbert on The Apprentice companion show You're Fired! on BBC Two at 10pm on Thursday. The Apprentice continues next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One.